Transformative agreements (Read & Publish, Publish & Read) are contracts between publishers and libraries that attempt to support the move to fully open access (OA) scholarly publishing. Generally, they move the cost of article processing charges (APCs) for Gold OA from the author to the library. In addition to the APCs, libraries pay for read access to the publisher's paywalled content.

Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) does not currently participate in transformative agreements. In our experience, we have found that transformative agreements would require more expensive multi-year contracts and more staff to manage article acceptance.We have not seen reduced subscription costs even though more content has shifted to open, and there continues to be a lack of transparency on how APCs are calculated.

OSUL is committed to open access as demonstrated by OSU faculty senate approval of our 2013 policy in support of open access. We support open access by pursuing collective and transparent funding models that are sustainable and provide equitable access.